England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Adderbury St Mary

The Parish

The Church

St Mary's church sits within West Adderbury and south of the main route through, followed by High Street, Water Lane & New Road. As Pevsner states St Mary is "one of the largest and most important churches in its county" and one deserving of an extensive visit. The churches origins lie in the 13th century when the core of the church, a cruciform church of the Early English Gothic style, was created. Little evidence remains of that 13th century church such are the changes wrought later in the medieval period and funded by the wealth of the cloth makers and merchants. The best remaining evidence lies in the transepts showing the arches of original windows, albeit now blocked. The massive western tower, however, which changes the form to the then more conventional layout is the work of the 14th century and it is truly a winder of the Decorated style of the first half of that century. It is believed to have been completed by c1350 when parapet and spire were eventually finished. Built of four stages and topped by an unusual octagonal spire it stands as a landmark across the wider district. Contemporaneously the aisles were widened and the transepts remodelled losing some of that Early English Gothic detailing. Rather than cloth wealth it was New College Oxford which funded the next most significant changes made between 1408 & 1419 and adding the Perpendicular style to the church's portfolio, during this phase the chancel, described by Pevsner as "magnificent" and vestry were built. Despite the grandeur of the church by the 18th century it had fallen into disrepair and all of the window tracery was lost to decay. The Georgians began the first of a series of restoration phases, between 1831 & 1834 that tracery was replaced with style-following new tracery and the chancel was restored to its full magnificence. The Victorians in a phase between 1866 & 1870 further restored the nave & aisles whilst the interior was tackled in 1886 in a rather dour style in contrast to the glory of the exterior. Mill Lane, north of the main entrance, is the best for on-street parking and is also where a lychgate grants entry into the churchyard, sadly many trees impede some aspects of the church, in particular surrounding the southwestern corner of the building, requiring some cunning from the photographer to find the best angles for this church.